Reno v. ACLU

In Reno v. ACLU (1997), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Communications Decency Act (CDA) was an unconstitutional restriction on free speech. The CDA, enacted in 1996, aimed to protect minors from indecent material online by criminalizing the transmission of "obscene" or "indecent" messages to those under 18.12

The Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, found that the CDA placed an "unacceptably heavy burden on protected speech" and threatened a significant portion of the internet community. The Court determined that the terms "indecent" and "patently offensive" were too vague and that the law overly restricted free speech, violating the First Amendment. The ACLU had challenged the law, arguing it was censorship. While the CDA's provisions against obscenity remain, the indecency and offensiveness clauses were struck down.12